


Drawing maps home

by hobikilledme



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Clothes sharing as a love language, Hyunjin and Jisung are a vague background relationship, M/M, Trans Lee Minho, apple picking, car sickness, jeongin best boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26796883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobikilledme/pseuds/hobikilledme
Summary: The stray kids go apple picking!
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	Drawing maps home

**Author's Note:**

> yes this was inspired by me going apple picking this week  
> This is my first stray kids fic please be nice

When his mom had brought up the idea of studying abroad, he thought that it would be more glamorous than this. Cool cities, shiny lights, weird food. But here he is, only about 75% he’s not about to get murdered, squished into a car bumping down a dirt road, going a little too fast around the curves. 

It’s fine, he had willingly done this, if he was feeling carsick, that was on him. Jeongin glared at him from across the van where Felix had the window cracked to try and not throw up. He had dragged Jeongin along with him because sure he was friends with everyone but sometimes you have to drag your emotional support person along with you.

America was fine, it was cool sometimes. There was plenty of weird food and lots of nice people. Changbin, Felix’s roommate, had basically adopted him the first week and since then he’s never been wanting for friends. Jeongin had also been adopted by Changbin, mostly by virtue of them being in the same foreign exchange orientation group that Changbin had been leading, so Felix had imprinted on both of them almost immediately.

Hyunjin had taken one look at him when Changbin brought him to the first game night and had said, “Oh you and I are going to be best friends.” He had kept his promise, bringing Felix with him to study at coffee shops, taking him to parties, and making sure he was eating okay.

Hyunjin also came with Jisung, a very sweet boy who didn’t know how to flirt except by teasing, and was startled really easily. 

“Does Hyunjin not realize?” He asked Changbin once, while they were all sitting at the same table to study but Hyunjin and Jisung were in their own little world, reading from the same book, Jisung feeding Hyunjin slices of a tangerine he had peeled.

Changbin sighed and kept highlighting his reading, “What, that Jisung is in love with him and wants to ask for his hand in marriage? No, because he’s stupid.”

Hyunjin wasn’t stupid Felix realized, just afraid sometimes. “Maybe I’m not good enough for him, what if I’m too much?” He had whispered one night when Felix had dragged him outside to lay in the grass and look at the moon instead of continuing to cry over a paper that was due in the morning. Felix hadn’t known what to say, just rubbed his thumb over the other boy’s knuckles.

Changbin’s old roommate Seungmin was an RA now but he still came to hang out with them occasionally. He was the one who introduced Felix to Minho, his ex-boyfriend and best friend. Minho had smacked him, “Stop introducing me like that! It gives people the wrong idea!” Seungmin had fallen off the couch laughing at Felix’s expression and Minho had kicked at him.

“Please ignore him, we dated in like middle school and then I realized I was actually a boy and didn’t want to date anyone anymore,” He said addressing Felix who was still frozen on the couch. 

Minho’s roommate was the one who hosted most of their friend group’s Family Nights. Bang Chan’s a junior, the president of the Korean Student Association and like three other clubs and the bane of Felix’s existence. “Bro, you’re in love with him,” Jeongin will remind him, not even looking up from his Switch when Felix is screaming into his pillow again. Felix will throw whatever is closest to him at the other boy to get him to scream.

Chan is the only reason Felix is here on this ride from hell. He had simply been putting more food on his plate during Family Dinner on Friday and Chan had turned to him, eyes crinkled into a smile asking, “You’re coming right Felix?” He loves Family Dinner, the mess of Korean and English being flung around, the sense of found family, why would Chan ambush him like this, when he’s at his coziest?

“Yeah of course,” He had responded in a daze, plate still in the air. Later he had to text Hyunjin asking what the hell he had agreed to and had received five paragraphs of laughing emojis. He admired the dedication.

So here he was, carsick on the way to pick apples because he liked pretty boys. Minho and Seungmin had finally stopped arguing over the aux cord out of respect for his illness but just the low rumble of people talking was making him feel even worse.

Finally, the dirt road ended, dropping them off by a barn. One of the people working there pointed towards a field with other cars parked in it and Chan brought the car around. 

“Hold on!” Everyone froze from where they were reaching for the door handles, “Here’s the rules, no arguing with the employees, no scaring the other guests and Minho,” Chan turns to the other boy, “No apple cannon this year.” Minho pouts. Felix looks at Hyunjin and mouths _apple cannon?_ And the other boy just shakes his head sadly.

“Everyone good?” Chan asks and waits until they all shake their heads, “Alright let's get it then.”

There’s a lot of chaos when they finally pile out of the car and make their way to the main barn, Bangchan paying for them to get their baskets to pick apples, Changbin grabbing a wagon and forcing to Jeongin to sit in it, Seungmin insisting that he could eat a whole peck of apples while Minho scoffs beside him. Felix sits outside the little barn with Hyunjin, trying to get over his queasiness while the other boy rubs his back and offers him his water bottle.

“Hey you feeling okay?” Felix looks up to see Chan crouched in front of him, “The ride up here was kind of rough wasn’t it? We’ll make sure you sit up front on the way back,” Chan says and offers Felix a little basket, “Here’s your basket, don’t feel pressured to come out right away if you’re still feeling sick, take your time.” He smiles that one smile that makes his dimples come out and Felix feels light headed again.

“I’m feeling better now that I’m not in the car,” He says reaching out for the basket. Maybe their fingers brush, he tries not to think about it.

“Great! I’m gonna go round everyone up and we can head out!” Chan says, pushing up to get everyone and Felix drops his head back between his legs. 

“That bad huh?” Hyunjin says, picking up his own little basket. Felix just sighs and rolls his eyes.

“I thought we said no more sober teasing about boy problems.”

“Damn,” Hyunjin brushes off his pants and holds a hand out for him, “I guess you’re right.”

The farm was set on the side of the mountain, the rows of apple trees set on the sweeping hills up to the top. There was a pasture that had a few cows in it and more rows of trees on the other side. A pumpkin patch sprawled out next to the lot they had parked the car in and when Felix turned back to face the barn, he could see all the mountains behind it. 

They start in the rows of Fuji apples first, trying to avoid the trees that are more picked over. Felix tries to stick to the lower hanging fruit but Hyunjin and Seungmin start trying to climb almost immediately. Jisung wrinkles his nose when a rotten apple squishes under his shoes and Changbin laughs at him. It smells a little like wine by the base of some trees, the apples on the ground already returning to the earth. They bring all the apples back to the cart that Jeongin is sitting in and pile them around him.

“How do they make new apples?” Jisung asks, to no one really when they wander into the row of Cameo apples. Hyunjin sighs like he’s being greatly put upon.

“Well Jisung, when a mommy apple and a daddy apple love each other very much,” He’s cut off with a squawk as Jisung throws an apple at him.

“Shut up! That’s not even right! Minho hyung! How do they make new apples!” Jisung whines.

“I’m an environmental studies major?” Minho replies and they all look at him blankly, “I specialize in like conservation of the environment. I don't know how new apples are made.”

“What’s the point of your degree then?” Seungmin asks, “You’re supposed to be studying the environment.” He yelps as Minho trips him and then laughs as he pretends to kick him.

They find another gravel path to the Golden Delicious and Pink Lady apples that passes by a little pond. Hyunjin makes Jisung take his photo by it, the goldenrod and queen anne's lace, complementing the bright red of the nearby trees. Jisung also insists on getting a picture which turns into all of them getting a picture taken. The trees around the pond shade the area more than the rest of the orchard and Felix shivers, having not put on a jacket early in the morning before they left.

Chan catches him shivering though. “Oh are you cold? It’s always colder than you think it’s gonna be up here, here take this!” He shrugs out of his flannel and hands it to Felix. He stares at him still smiling until he puts it on, the arms a little too long. “Cool, make sure you’re staying warm,” He says before going to break up a fight between Minho and Seungmin again. 

Jeongin stares at him pointedly from the wagon.

“Don’t say anything, it's just him being a bro or something,” Felix hisses at him, picking up his basket again, ignoring the way Chan’s smell drifts off the flannel. Jeongin rolls his eyes and goes back to stacking apples. 

“Sure I love when my best bro wraps me in his jacket because I looked a little chilly,” an apple bounces off the cart, “Just very good bro things.”

Changbin tugs the cart, following Hyunjin and Jisung into the new row of trees and Felix trails behind them. 

After a while, the cart is full of apples and some of them want to go do other things. “Well I want to find the Stayman apples,” Chan says, “So we can all meet up again later?” Everyone agrees and splits off. 

Felix follows Chan and Jisung around the rows in the back of the orchard by the maple and oak trees for a while before they finally look at a map and realize the Stayman’s are on the other side of the farm. They wander past the soybean fields, Jisung _pspsps_ ing at the cows to try and get them to come over and Felix falls over laughing at him. 

There’s a yell from the pumpkin patch in front of the cows. The three of them turn around to see Seungmin holding a pumpkin over his head out in the middle of the field. 

Chan yells over at him, “You can’t take that home! You live in a dorm!” 

Seungmin holds the pumpkin closer to him and yells back, “I run the dorm they can’t stop me!”

\----

They end up all meeting by the corn maze again.

“Let's team up and see who can get out of the maze faster,” Minho suggests. Hyunjin holds up his hands.

“I’m not going in a corn maze around halloween thanks, I’ll wait at the end for you guys to finish,” He grabs Jisung’s hand, “Keep me company?” Felix notices that Jisung looks like a big weight has been lifted off his shoulders at the thought of not having to go through the maze.

“Yeah no problem,” He smiles at Hyunjin who rolls his eyes and looks over at Felix like he doesn’t look anything other than exasperatedly fond.

“Is this a race?” Seungmin asks.

“It is now,” Jeongin replies, grabbing Changbin’s hand, “Hyung, count us down?” Hyunjin picks up the handle of the cart with his free hand.

“Okay, ready?” Everyone tenses up, “On your mark, get readyyy,” He draws it out until they all start whining, “Go!” Jisung waves his hand down and they all take off running.

“Come on!” Bangchan grabs his hand and they take off running. Felix can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. They run after the others before splitting off to find a faster way.

They’ve been walking for maybe 15 minutes and his phone won’t stop vibrating and Chan points it out. “Is someone calling you?” He asks, looking at a little waterlogged map at an intersection. Felix feels his ears burn.

“Haha hold on,” He pulls out his phone and sees 13 new notifications from Hyunjin.

 **KING BITCH** :

Sooooooooooooooo

You’re going to talk to him right

Right

Right

Answer me bitch

 **Baby Bitch** :

Bro i am in the middle of walking with him

Leave me alone and maybe ill talk to him!

>:(

 **KING BITCH** :

Hmmmm

Well scream if you need me to come find you

**Baby Bitch:**

Im in the middle of the corn field?

 **KING BITCH** :

And?

“Is everything okay?” Chan asks looking over at him. 

“Yeah it’s Hyunjin, he’s fine, just talking about uhm, the apples,” Felix shoves his phone back in his pocket, “Which way are we going?” He comes over to look at the little map too.

“Well, I can’t read this map at all, so maybe we should go right?” Chan says tilting his head.

“Lead the way then,” Felix says and the other boy grins.

\---

20 minutes later and they’re back at the little waterlogged map. “Okay so maybe I don’t know where I am?” Chan says, still looking puzzled over the map. Felix laughs, a little stressed that they’re going to die in this corn maze. “Let’s try going left?”

They hit another dead end and Felix really has to tap down the urge to start hysterically laughing. 

“Are we going to die here oh my god,” Felix is probably gripping Chan’s hand a little too hard.

“I promise we aren’t going to die here, we are just a little lost,” Chan says and Felix glares at him, “Okay a lot lost, but it’s just corn so we could probably just walk straight out of it if we tried hard enough.”

Maybe the corn maze is trying to tell Felix something, not letting him out until he talks to Chan like a real adult. He takes a deep breath.

“Hey Chan?” He can do this, he’s a big boy.

Chan turns to look at him, “Yeah what’s up?” He smiles. Felix can’t do this, he’s a baby. The voice in his head that sounds like Hyunjin tells him to pull it together.

“Well I uhm,” He can tell he’s floundering and Chan just keeps smiling and looking encouraging, “I wanted to let you know that I like you.”

“I like you too!” Chan beams at him, oh no.

“I mean like romantically,” Felix says with the last shred of courage he has, “It’s cool if you don’t feel the same, I can make sure it doesn’t affect anything or the group or-” Chan interrupts him though.

“Oh, I really haven’t thought about anything except kissing you since you put on my flannel is that okay?” He asks and Felix is going to lose it over this beautiful stupid boy.

“Please kiss me right now, or I might start screaming,” Felix says grabbing the front of Chan’s t-shirt.

“Oh don't do that I- _mph,”_ Felix cuts him off, pressing their lips together and Chan melts into it. Felix lets his hands spread across the other boy’s chest and Chan’s hands come up to his neck and jaw, tilting his head slightly.

Felix blinks and pulls back a little, “Is this okay?”

“You’ve got stars on your skin,” Chan replies, sounding almost loopy. Felix snorts and it turns into a full body laugh, the kind that makes you bend over from the force of it. When it fades, he looks up to see Chan beaming at him.

“You’re just astoundingly pretty you know?”

“You’re painfully honest aren’t you?” Felix responds, noticing they’re still holding hands, Chan’s thumb brushing over his knuckles.

Chan pulls him back in, pressing one, two, three kisses to his mouth before they both break into smiles. “Yeah,” He says, brushing a finger over Felix’s cheek bone, following a trail of freckles.

Felix kisses him one more time, because he can and then pulls back, “Okay this is a very good thing, a great thing in fact!” Chan laughs at him, “But can we please escape this maze, I will start crying shortly if we don’t get out of here.”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” Chan says and drags him back the way they came.

\---

The universe must have decided that Felix had suffered enough because they made it out fairly quickly after that. They stumble out of the exit and see Changbin waiting with the apple cart.

“We were about to send out a search party,” He says smiling when he sees the two of them holding hands. 

“No need to do that,” Chan says, words coming out around his own grin, “Are we the last ones out?”

“Yeah, everyone else already went to the barn because Jeongin and Seungmin wanted apple doughnuts,” Changbin says, turning the wagon filled with apples around to start heading that way. 

Chan and Changbin chatter about all the things they’re going to make with the apples, and Felix swings their hands together, still feeling kind of giddy. They split off at the barn, Chan going to help Changbin with getting the apples. He winks at Felix when they detangle their hands and Felix really, really hopes he isn’t blushing. 

He goes over to find the rest of them in the store area and drapes himself over Jisung who barely even moves. 

“Jeongin, will you buy me an apple slushie? I wanna go see if the rocking chairs are open,” He gets a thumbs up and goes to find the chairs.

Hyunjin is already sitting out there, watching Minho make a break for the apple cannons while Chan is distracted. He looks up when Felix comes out, patting the arm of the chair beside him. They watch Minho cackle at the apple cannons and Seungmin encourages him from the side, making comments about his aim.

“Did things work out?” Hyunjin asks quietly. Minho misses and almost hits a small child with an apple and Seungmin falls on the ground laughing.

“Yeah, they did,” Felix says, tilting his head to look at Hyunjin’s profile, “Are you guys good too?”

“We talked,” Hyunjin says looking back over at him and offering a small smile, “We’re gonna take it slow,” There’s more yelling at the apple cannon and they look over to see that Chan found them. They watch him chase them around and the other boys come out to see too. Hyunjin gets up out of the rocking chair to sit with Jisung and Changbin on the curb and watch the spectacle.

Jeongin hands Felix his apple slushie, the dozens of questions he obviously wants to ask showing in his eyes. Felix takes it and smiles at him and Jeongin relaxes, sitting in the rocking chair next to him.

“I would have fought him if he was mean to you,” He says slurping his own slushie.

Felix snorts, ugly laughing for a second, “Chan weighs at least two of you combined.”

“Hyunjin hyung would have helped, we could have taken him,” Jeongin says petulatenly, rocking a little. Felix reaches over and holds his hand.

“Thanks, I really appreciate having someone to look out for me,” He laughs when he sees the other boy’s ears turn red.

Eventually, Minho and Seungmin come back to the barn with Chan, not even pretending like they feel sorry for breaking the rules.

“Everyone ready to head out?” Chan asks, picking up one of the bags of apples. Everyone nods, some sleepier than others. “Okay then, let's head out.”

They all make their way back to the car, bickering over who has to hold a bag of apples on their lap, and Chan comes up and slips his hand back into Felix’s. He smiles at him and Felix smiles back, swinging their hands a little. 

Minho relinquishes the passenger seat to Felix, crawling into the backseat but making him hand over the aux cord regardless. He puts on a calmer playlist though and they’re barely down the mountain before most of the car is asleep. Felix takes a picture of Hyunjin asleep with Jisung passed out on his shoulder to use for blackmail later. Chan smiles at him when he turns back around in his seat and holds out his hand. Felix laces their fingers together and taps out the beat of the song on the back of his hand.

They’re probably going to talk more about this later, Chan being a painfully honest person and an adult with okay communication skills, but for now Felix lets it just be. The trees wind by, a blur of red and orange against the blue of the mountains, and a song softly humming through the speakers as they head home.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/bearyjamjam) If yall wanna come cry about felix you can come find me here


End file.
